Interchangeable Disney Attractions – Don’t Blink Or You May Miss It!

Interchangeable Disney attractions, “Come again for Big Fudge?” You heard us right, Marshall, Interchangeable Disney attractions are being considered for the Walt Disney World Resort. In the DVC Duo house our minds are running wild on how Disney Imagineering could use this type of concept to create new experiences. Let’s open up this black box of mystery and see what we can uncover!

Bob Chapek at D23

The Backstory

Crikey, Bob’s got an idea! Which Bob you ask? Chapek of course, as he does oversee the Disney Parks. According to Jim Hill, from Jim Hill Media, Bob has had the idea of creating a “black box” style attraction where Disney Imagineering could switch up the attractions theme on a more regular basis, rumored to be every 3 to 4 months with different Intellectual Properties (IP).

Passholder Insights: Currently the only seasonal, or continually changing attractions at Walt Disney World are the festivals in Epcot.

Ratatouille Trackless Ride Vehicles

The Attraction Technology

What type of interchangeable Disney attractions could we expect? Great question! According to Walt Disney World News Today the attractions would be either dark rides centered around different screen based technology or shows that could easily switch from one IP to another. One of the rumors is Disney Imagineering is considering the use of trackless ride vehicles (like Ratatouille) to create the interchangeable Disney attractions designed around the dark ride concept. The trackless vehicles would travel through the attraction where screen based technology would be used to create the different environments depending on the IP.

Location of the Play Pavilion

Location, Where Could It Go?

It’s down to two locations. If the interchangeable Disney attractions concept gets the green light, there are two foreseeable locations. According to WDWMagic user marni1971, Hollywood Studios is being considered as a potential landing spot. Where and how it would fit into the overall park is unknown. In the DVC Duo house we believe if the technology comes to Hollywood Studios the most logical location would be either the Star Wars Launch Bay or somewhere in that vicinity.

The location that has the highest probability for the concept is Epcot’s upcoming Play Pavilion. According to Jim Hill, of Jim Hill Media, the black box or interchangeable Disney attractions concept (it has many names in the Disneyphile world) is the anchor for the new pavilion. Bob Chapek envisions the pavilion as the testing ground for new concepts, as well IP testing for future attractions.

One of the rumors according to WDWNT is the upcoming Play Pavilion rumored attraction called Hotel Heist, starting the Zootopia characters, would be built on the concept. This theme would open with the Play Pavilion, but would be changed out later. If we’re connecting the dots, this is a great way for Disney World to test the demand for the Zootopia land we discussed in a previous article.

Our Thoughts

Creating interchangeable attractions would make a lot of sense for the parks. Having one or two of these type of attractions would give Disney the ability to try new concepts on a larger scale prior to developing a larger attraction or even a new land. Testing IP’s is nothing new for Disney, as they’ve used a variety of methods over the years to gauge guests demand. They are currently using interactive displays in the Mexico pavilion to test the demand for a Coco attraction.

Our first taste of the interchangeable Disney attractions concept could come as early as Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary with the Play Pavilion. It’s more than likely any addition of an interchangeable ride to Hollywood Studios would begin construction at least 18 months to 2 years after the opening of Star Wars Galaxy Edge. For now let’s kick up our feet and daydream about potential Interchangeable Disney attractions!